From the cover:“Holling Hoodhood is really in for it.He’s just started seventh grade with Mrs. Baker, a teacher he knows is out to get him.Why else would she make him read Shakespeare … outside class? The year is 1967, and everyone has bigger things to worry about, especially Vietnam.Then there’s the family business.As far as Holling’s father is concerned, the Hoodhoods need to be one their best behavior:the success of Hoodhood and Associates depends on it.But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with?Rats, for one thing; cream puffs, for another.Then there’s Doug Swieteck’s brother.And Ariel’s costume:tights.That’s just for starters.In a series of mishaps an adventures over the course of the school year, fate sneaks up on Holling again and again. Gary D. Schmidt has written a novel that is at turns comic and compelling, down-to-earth and over-the-top.… he offers an unforgettable antihero in Holling Hoodhood, a kid from the suburbs who embraces his destiny in spite of himself.”
The year is 1967, and everyone has bigger things to worry about, especially Vietnam. Then there’s the family business. As far as Holling’s father is concerned, the Hoodhoods need to be one their best behavior: the success of Hoodhood and Associates depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? Rats, for one thing; cream puffs, for another. Then there’s Doug Swieteck’s brother. And Ariel’s costume: tights. That’s just for starters. In a series of mishaps an adventures over the course of the school year, fate sneaks up on Holling again and again.
Gary D. Schmidt has written a novel that is at turns comic and compelling, down-to-earth and over-the-top. … he offers an unforgettable antihero in Holling Hoodhood, a kid from the suburbs who embraces his destiny in spite of himself.”